


Phone in My Pocket, Heart on My Sleeve

by PiningTsukkiEnthusiast



Series: UshiTen Week 2019 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Confessions, Feelings Realization, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Not a tag? Wack, Pining, Short & Sweet, Timelines might be a lil wonky though so ig it could be, Ushijima POV, Ushiten Week, We're gonna say it is, hand-holding, have i mentioned fluff yet, idk! readers choice!, it's just soft, plenty of angst later this week wink wonk, well kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 00:37:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20751416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiningTsukkiEnthusiast/pseuds/PiningTsukkiEnthusiast
Summary: UshiTen Week, Day 1:Confessions|Firsts| AnniversaryWakatoshi decided that if he was going to confront his problem and confess to Tendou, he should do it right. He knew that he could be blunt, and maybe a bit dense, and he wasn’t particularly skilled at expressing his feelings with words. A confession…well, a confession was that.Finally, he found an article that seemed to be upfront and simple to follow. There were four steps, and they didn’t require any subtly or fancy social skills that he would need to think too hard about. Just being honest and direct, without panicking. Well, he certainly had the first part down!Or, Wakatoshi has a crush on Tendou, but he's not sure how to confess.





	Phone in My Pocket, Heart on My Sleeve

**Author's Note:**

> It's ya boi, back at it again with the bad titles

Wakatoshi had a problem.

Said problem was loud, with bright red hair and wide eyes and a smile that didn’t always reach those eyes. Said problem was trying to catch the grapes that Semi Eita was throwing into his mouth, with a success rate of only about 38%. Said problem cheered when he finally caught a grape, shouting–

“Wakatoshi-kun! Did ya see that!?”

–with one of the bright, genuine smiles, so proud over something so silly. And yet, Wakatoshi found himself replying–

“Nice receive.”

–with just a sliver of a smile so his _problem_ knew that he was maybe, a little bit, teasing him.

And said problem beamed even brighter. “Again, Eita-kun!”

Wakatoshi huffed in amusement before returning to his textbook. He focused for all of two seconds before he heard Reon chuckle beside him.

“You’ve got a crush on Tendou, don’t you?” Reon whispered, blunt but not unkind.

Wakatoshi gave a one-shouldered shrug, trying to think about his calculus homework, and not his best friend who lit up every room he was in.

“You should tell him,” Reon continued. “I don’t think he would reject you, and the volleyball season _is_ over now. You have time before school gets busy… Really, if you were going to start a relationship at any time in your third year, this is the time to do it.”

Wakatoshi finally looked at his friend. “I’ve never confessed to someone before. I don’t want to do it wrong.”

Reon smiled and pat his back. “Don’t worry, Wakatoshi; I don’t think you could mess this up if you tried.”

Wakatoshi frowned. “Why would I try to mess it up?”

His friend sighed, smile not fading. “Right.”

Tendou was already sitting outside of Wakatoshi’s room Saturday afternoon when he opened the door. He was wearing a sweater that reminded Wakatoshi a bit of the De Stijl art movement with the blocks of simple but bright colors across the front. Between that and Tendou’s mismatched polka dot socks revealed by cuffed jeans, it was such a quintessential Tendou Satori look. Against his will, Wakatoshi’s lips pulled up into a small smile.

“Hi,” he said, making Tendou look up from his phone finally.

“Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou cheered, launching himself up to hug Wakatoshi. “Sorry, I got ready early so I thought I’d wait here!”

“That’s fine,” Wakatoshi assured him, closing his dorm door.

“I gotta tell you about this weeks episode of KNY, Wakatoshi-kun, because if I don’t tell someone what happened, I think I might actually implode from stress!”

As they walked out of the dorm building, they fell into the familiar routine of Tendou talking while Wakatoshi listened attentively. He didn’t know much about what Tendou was saying, but it was always worth listening anyways.

Wakatoshi never understood when people were confused that he listened to Tendou. It wasn’t hard to do. If you cared about a person, then it wasn’t hard to care about what they had to say, even if you didn’t understand. At least, that was how Wakatoshi felt. He knew firsthand that people tended to distance themselves if they felt like they couldn’t relate, and he didn’t want to put someone else through it.

If Tendou could spend summers listening to Wakatoshi talking about the plants in his mother’s garden, the Wakatoshi could listen to Tendou talk about anything else. That should have been what it meant to be best friends, right?

“Anyways, if I ever have a favorite character again, stop me, because they’ll just die again,” Tendou concluded, sighing dramatically. “I stayed up way too late catching up on the past few episodes, though, and now I’m so behind on homework.”

“Should we study today instead?” Wakatoshi suggested.

“Maybe… but I still wanna take a walk first, if that’s okay!”

Wakatoshi nodded – as if he truly could tell Tendou no.

On Tuesday morning, Wakatoshi’s _problem_ became more evident.

Even Goshiki noticed.

“Ushijima-senpai, you keep staring at Tendou-senpai,” Goshiki observed at lunch.

Wakatoshi hadn’t even realized he was staring. “What?”

“Did you two finally start going out?” Goshiki asked, eyes bright with excitement.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

The excitement was quickly replaced by embarrassment. “Oh! Um, forget that I said anything! I’m sorry, Ushijima-senpai!”

“It’s alright,” Wakatoshi said, still wondering how obvious he’d been.

He really needed to do something about this.

“You know he likes you, right,” Semi said while he and Wakatoshi stretched together. “I mean it. Satori would run into your arms on the beach at sunset if you asked him to.”

“Why would I ask him to?” Wakatoshi asked, switching to stretch his other hamstring.

Semi clicked his tongue and leaned harder on Wakatoshi’s back. “You two really are a couple of dense volleyball idiots, you know that? Everyone but you two knows you have feelings for each other.”

Yeah, it was really time to do something about this.

Wakatoshi decided that if he was going to confront his problem and confess to Tendou, he should do it right. He knew that he could be blunt, and maybe a bit dense, and he wasn’t particularly skilled at expressing his feelings with words. A confession…well, a confession _was _that.

Finally, he found an article that seemed to be upfront and simple to follow. There were four steps, and they didn’t require any subtly or fancy social skills that he would need to think too hard about. Just being honest and direct, without panicking. Well, he certainly had the first part down!

_Step one, don’t make it too big a deal._

That was simple enough: Wakatoshi didn’t plan on making it some huge occasion. He just wanted the feelings off of his chest, to see where Tendou stood, and then to proceed accordingly. It might sting should Tendou not return his feelings, but Wakatoshi knew he would be able to handle rejection. It wouldn’t be the first time, after all.

_Step two, decide whether to do it in person or via text._

Wakatoshi thought a little harder on that one. Both options had their benefits. While in person would be more direct and personal, he often didn’t come across right when he used his words. In a text, he could write it all out, have Reon proofread it, and send it when the time felt right.

If Tendou needed time to think, a text would certainly give him time, but then…if Tendou accepted his feelings, Wakatoshi thought he might prefer to be _there_ to see his reaction. After all, Tendou’s face when something made him happy was so… Wakatoshi felt a smile tug at his own lips just thinking about Tendou’s genuine grins.

_Step three, pick your moment._

Friday. Whether it would be over text or in person, Wakatoshi knew for sure it was best to do it after practice on a Friday. If Tendou rejected him, they could spend the weekend away from each other without too big a risk of bumping into one another. Knowing how they both compartmentalized their emotions, Wakatoshi was sure they would be just fine.

On the other hand, if Tendou accepted his feelings, they could go on their first date within the next few days, without too much preamble. While Wakatoshi didn’t want to get his hopes up too high, he thought that maybe it would be nice to go out on a date soon after confessing. To be able to hold Tendou’s hand while they walked, maybe…and maybe even kiss him goodnight…

But Wakatoshi was getting ahead of himself, here.

_Step four, do it ASAP._

Well, that was simple. He would just do it _this_ Friday, which fit perfectly in his preexisting plans. He would either text or tell Tendou to his face, _I’m in love with you,_ and hope for the best.

Just two more days…

Thursday was the longest day of Wakatoshi’s life, which said something, given he wasn’t the sort to be hyperbolic. But he couldn’t focus in class, his mind was drifting during meals, and he almost got hit in the face during volleyball practice – which _never_ happened.

“Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou yelled, moving fast to block the ball. “Hey, anybody in there?” He asked with a poke to Wakatoshi’s head.

“Sorry, I’ve been thinking about something,” Wakatoshi replied. “Thank you.”

“Any chance to be your knight in shining armor, Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou said with a grin. “But watch out next time! Wouldn’t want you to get a ball right in your pretty face!”

Wakatoshi didn’t even have time to react before Tendou disappeared again. His mind unhelpfully supplied a vision of Tendou as a knight in shining armor, which was just embarrassing to dwell on.

He needed to confess, and he needed to confess _soon_.

Ultimately, Wakatoshi devised what he saw to be a foolproof plan:

He would walk around campus with Tendou – a normal request and something they did together often – and they would talk like always did. If the moment arose, or if Wakatoshi was feeling brave, he would tell Tendou how he felt, and he would face the consequences of his confession. Should the moment not pass, he had a text in his phone drafts that had been proofed by Reon and was ready to be sent.

Wakatoshi felt a little silly with such a thought-out plan for something as inconsequential as confessing a crush, but this was Tendou Satori. He’d never had a best friend before, and he certainly wasn’t prepared to face the possibility of losing him.

But Tendou skipped along, happily chattering away about the anime he’d recently started watching, and Wakatoshi watched his expressive gestures when he got to talking about his current favorite character. It was comfortable, and normal, and – how would Wakatoshi’s confession change this?

He hoped it wouldn’t be too different, whatever the outcome. Tendou’s friendship had become a staple in his life in the past two and a half years. He wasn’t prepared to jeopardize that. Even if all the changes were positive, a part of Wakatoshi feared he may be overwhelmed by it and withdraw into himself.

If Tendou rejected him, Wakatoshi wanted to be confident that nothing would change, but maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe, Tendou would stop sending smiles that felt like they were reserved just for him. Maybe, Tendou wouldn’t want to have their walks or late night anime marathons or to read Shonen Jump together – Tendou reading the manga and Wakatoshi reading the advertisements. Maybe–

“Waka_toshi-kun_!” Tendou had stopped and was waving his hand in front of Wakatoshi’s face. “Are you okay? You’ve been a little out of it lately.”

While Tendou’s expression was still cheery, Wakatoshi saw the concern just beneath the surface.

“Can we sit?” Wakatoshi asked, sitting on a nearby bench.

Tendou’s smile softened into something more genuine, and he nodded. “Of course. What’s on your mind, Wakatoshi-kun!”

As soon as they sat, Tendou’s phone shouted a text notification with a _Shiratorizawa!_ recorded from one of their games. Wakatoshi motioned for him to check it, and after a moment’s reluctance, Tendou did.

At least this gave him a moment to compose hims–

“Uh, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou’s eyes were glued to his phone, heat creeping up his neck. “D’ya have your phone on you, per chance? Cause I think one of the guys might’ve gotten a hold of it and are playing a very terrible prank on me.”

Wakatoshi frowned and patted his jacket and jeans until he found his phone in the back pocket. “Why do you–?” He stopped when he saw what had happened – what he had accidentally sent. Heat rushed to his face. This was _not_ his plan. “I believe this is what they call a pocket dial, except with much bigger consequences.”

“Didja – um – did _you_ write that text, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou asked, voice smaller than Wakatoshi had ever heard it.

“Yes,” Wakatoshi confirmed.

“And ya _meant_ to send it to me?”

Wakatoshi nodded, too afraid to look at Tendou to gauge his reaction.

“And ya just left it in your drafts, because…?”

“It was my backup plan.”

“Backup plan,” Tendou repeated slowly. “Because you…?”

“I was going to confess to you today, and I thought if I could not do it in person, I should have a backup plan at the ready, because I wanted you to know how I feel.”

“How you…feel…” Tendou sounded out of breath and bewildered, but it didn’t seem completely negative, so Wakatoshi chanced a look at him. Despite his obvious confusion and surprise, Tendou’s face was split wide in a grin.

With a new burst of courage, Wakatoshi stood and bowed at the waist in front of Tendou. “I am in love with you. If you accept my feelings, please, go on a date with me.”

Tendou shrieked and jumped off the bench, pushing at Wakatoshi’s shoulders so he was standing up again. “That’s so embarrassing and formal, Wakatoshi-kun!”

“I’m sorry–”

“No,” Tendou interrupted, “don’t apologize. It’s so _you_, and I love that. I love you.” Tendou threw his head back and laughed. “I love you, you gigantic doof.”

“You do?” Even when the response seemed to be positive, Wakatoshi hadn’t been expecting it to go so well.

“Yes,” Tendou promised, taking Wakatoshi’s hands in his own. “And I’d love to go on a date with you tomorrow.”

“Have you decided what you and Satori are doing today?” Reon asked, handing Wakatoshi a shirt.

“I thought we would go out for ice cream, go to the park, and then come back to the dorms and either watch anime or read Shonen Jump together.”

“Isn’t that what you do every Saturday?” Reon pointed out.

“Yes.”

Reon smiled and shook his head. “Well, have fun on your date, Wakatoshi.”

Wakatoshi brought a rose with him when he knocked on Tendou’s and Semi’s dorm. He hoped that it wasn’t too formal or old-fashioned, but given how Tendou’s eyes lit up when he saw it, Wakatoshi supposed he did okay.

“Wakatoshi-kun! That’s so sweet!” Tendou gasped, leaning forward to steal a quick hug. “Thank you.”

“Are you ready?”

“I was _born ready_, Wakatoshi-kun!” Tendou assured him, setting the rose on his desk before leaving his dorm. “Where to?”

“I thought that we could get ice cream?” Wakatoshi suggested, feeling a little uncertain after Reon pointed out that it was a normal Saturday.

But Tendou beamed at him. “Lead the way!” he cheered before linking their hands together. And it was small, but it was new.

And Tendou did most of the talking, just like always, and Wakatoshi listened attentively, also like always. Thinking about how Tendou was going to get two scoops of chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, how Tendou’s hair looked like fire in the afternoon light, Tendou, Tendou, _Tendou_. Being able to look without feeling self-conscious was a new kind of freedom, and Wakatoshi was so glad that this had all come together.

“So, I was thinking we could finish this week’s Shonen Jump when we get back?” Tendou said, swinging their hands between them.

“Sure. I would like to finish the advertisements.”

Tendou smiled even wider, which on most people would not have been possible. “Wakatoshi-kun, you’re so unusual. I love that.”

“Thank you for doing this with me today,” Wakatoshi said, finally pulling his eyes away from the boy beside him. “It’s nice.”

“So far, all we’ve done is walk while I talk your ears off! What’s any different from the rest of the times?”

“We’re holding hands,” Wakatoshi pointed out.

“You’re right about that,” Tendou agreed, using his free hand to stroke his chin. “So, you’re thanking me for holding your hand? ’Cause Wakatoshi-kun, I can do this whenever ya want!”

Wakatoshi smiled and tugged on Tendou’s hand to pull him to a stop. “Yeah. I suppose so.”

“It’s so pretty when you smile,” Tendou said, practically radiating hearts from his being. “I really like when you do.”

“Thank you. I like your smile as well,” Wakatoshi said.

Tendou’s face quickly turned a color similar to his hair. “Wah?! Wakatoshi-kun!”

Wakatoshi breathed a laugh and started pulling Tendou along again. “It’s true; I think your smile made me realize that I was in love with you.”

“You’re gonna kill me!” Tendou squeaked out, burying his face in his hands. “I love you, but you’re killing me!”

There was another small difference, which came when they were reading manga together on Tendou’s bed. Instead of sitting side-by-side holding it between them, Tendou took the liberty of draping his legs across Wakatoshi’s lap and cuddling up to him.

“Any interesting ads on this page, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendou asked, teasingly bumping his nose against Wakatoshi’s cheek.

Wakatoshi reread the advertisements and shrugged. “They started advertising a new hair gel.”

Tendou laughed, and Wakatoshi could feel his breath against his face. “Maybe I should take a look at that one.”

“Are you no longer satisfied with your current hair gel?” Wakatoshi asked, turning his attention fully to Tendou.

Tendou laughed again, and this time Wakatoshi saw it, nose-to-nose with his best friend who might have been his boyfriend now.

“Wakatoshi-kun,” Tendou said, his voice lower than before. “Is it – may I – it is okay if I kiss you right now?”

Wakatoshi felt his breath hitch, but he nodded. “Yes.”

Tendou leaned in, slow enough that Wakatoshi could back out if he wanted, before pressing their lips together in a soft, chaste kiss. Wakatoshi’s eyes barely closed before Tendou was pulling back.

“This was the best date I’ve ever had, Wakatoshi-kun,” Tendou sighed, resting his head on Wakatoshi’s shoulder.

“This is the only date you’ve ever had, Satori.”

Tendou smiled against Wakatoshi’s skin. “I know.” After a quiet moment, Tendou lifted his head. “D’ya wanna finish the issue, or just kiss a little more, because I’m okay with either option…”

Wakatoshi smiled and slid a hand into Tendou’s hair. “Are you sure?”

“Kiss me until I can’t _breathe_, Wakatoshi-kun.”

“That sounds unhealthy.”

Tendou huffed a laugh and brushed their noses together. “That’s okay.”

“That’s seriously how you got together?” Semi snorted. “A normal Saturday with added hand-holding and some making out?”

“Our relationship was perfect and natural, Semisemi,” Tendou pouted. “Anyways, I’ll be back in the morning! One-year anniversary celebration and all that!”

“Ew, I don’t want to hear about it. Wakatoshi?”

Wakatoshi turned to face Semi.

“Don’t let him get into too much trouble, alright?”

Wakatoshi smiled fondly at his boyfriend. “Yeah. I’ll try.”

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S USHITEN WEEK MY DUDESSSSSSSSS anyways I'm very hype super excite, I can't wait to do this the whole way through!
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/lovingyachi) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit


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